Reflection on the Gospel of the Friday In The Twenty-Eight Week In Ordinary Time |
Luke 12:1-7 |
While preaching, Jesus was invited by a Pharisee for a meal the Pharisees’ surprise at Jesus not washing his hands triggered a very honest and angry feedback from Jesus, as we say today, Jesus just gave them a piece of his mind. This reaction was just not expected, like a pent-up outburst! but Jesus simply brought out their hypocrisy openly. He even warns the crowd of the ‘yeast of the Pharisees’ that is, their hypocrisy. A very interesting reference to avoid allowing this yeast to spread fear in the Kingdom of God. He prepares the disciples in anticipation of the persecution that they will face, for following him.
While we may walk around with strong facades to hide our brokenness or sweep the dirt under the carpet, it will all come open in the light some day and will be exposed and nothing can be hidden in front of God. Rather than being anxious or fearing the problems, we should be cognisant of the ‘fear of the Lord’ who will come in judgement and evaluate the lives that we have led. We are of more value to him than the birds of the air and he knows our needs and cares deeply for us. We just surrender to him and let the Holy Spirit guide us.
We have to regularly clean up our insides, through prayer, emptying the corners of our hearts and minds, dusting out the layers of hypocrisy and allowing God to put order in our lives. The cleanliness in our hearts will automatically brighten our lives and each one of us will be the good leaven of God to build his reign.
